We’re currently in Seattle, Washington visiting Stephen’s sister, Alison, and her family. As a special treat, we shot some updated family photos of them and their Grammy, and at the end, we even jumped in a few shots with our adorable nephews and niece, who we adore so much.  Stephen and I cherish the closeness of family, and feel so blessed to share a special bond with this beautiful family, who we thankfully can remain close to through the great invention of Facetime, even on the other side of the country.  But every time we  get to visit with and stay with his sister and her family, we learn so much from Alison and Jason about how to be amazing parents, how to raise children who love others, and how keeping Christ at the foundation of their household is the glue that holds them all together. They set a beautiful example for us as we daydream about the future, and we only hope that one day, our children will be as amazing as their three children that we love being an Uncle and Aunt to.

Here’s a few of our favorites from the shoot!

When we moved into our new neighborhood, I had no idea we would be blessed with such amazing and gracious neighbors as we have been with Carl, Lisa, Daniel & Lauren.  Often times, without asking, I would hear a leaf blower in our yard, to peek out and see Carl blowing our leaves off the driveway for us.  And I can’t count the many times we’ve borrowed one home improvement tool after another from this family’s garage.  I like to think they feel sorry for Stephen and I as newlyweds trying to learn how to take care of a house, but what I see more importantly is how much they live out Jesus’s greatest command to love your neighbors as yourselves.  Everytime we walk in their house we see a huge framed photo from their last professional family session back in the 90s, and they finally agreed to let us give them some updated photos.  Even better, this time around we got to include their furry child, Maggie, as well.  Here’s a few of our favorites from their family session!

Each year we have the pleasure of documenting how this beautiful family grows up.  But each year, I secretly love the excuse to catch up with Sarah and Brian, having gone way back to when I shot their 2008 wedding, and now call them great friends.  I can’t believe how quickly their sweet Elle and Eli are getting so big, having been their from the beginning to document their once newborn sessions as well.  I recently ran across an image of my mom and uncle when they were Elle and Eli’s age, and looking at my own family history captured in the vintage black and photo, it really reminded me of how blessed Stephen and I feel to have the privilege of documenting other’s family histories as well.

Here’s some of our favorites from the shoot!

A few years ago, I shot the gorgeous wedding of Shayla and Kyle up in Savannah, GA.  To this day, with all it’s pink-a-licious details, it has been one of my favorites, and it was fun to reunite with this family as Stephen and I took some updated family photos.  Shayla had a Winter Wonderland in mind meets Country Camo for the style.  Her husband and boys love to hunt and fish, so while she catered to their camouflage tastes, her and her daughter contrasted it with the glam of Jimmy Choo heels and sparkly dresses.  Add in a touch of pink smoke and snow machines, and it all ended up a magical family session.